ein Dutzend Tage

Day 12. Here's a great video of some members working the Overhead Squat, good job guys!

I somewhat look forward to my Thursdays because it's my official rest day. I'm even happier because today's scheduled WOD is to run a 5k and I absolutely hate long distance running, especially if it's in circles. I guess my body and mind had never accepted this type of running because the sports I played didn't require it. Football, basketball, volleyball, and hockey utilized bursts of speed, so I'd rather sprint an amount equivalent to the distance. Sure I'd slow down and be tired as heck but I get to rest between sprints. But I realize I have to run soon enough, so I'll suck it up for the next time, but hey I don't mind cycling some 50 odd miles.

This nutrition experience is definitely a winning one. I know it's only been 12 days but the body and mind are reaping the benefits. I'm also not going to lie because I am human and I do have cravings of pizza, donuts, candy, etc... but I tell myself I'm ok without them and move on.

Meals: Today was leftovers day for all meals.

LET'S GO LAKERS!!!!

11日目(nichi-me)

In case some readers haven't already noticed I've been using different languages as titles of some blog entries. There is no rhyme or reason I chose the language for that day, it's completely random and today I chose Japanese for Day 11, hump day. I thought it would be something different, that's all.

I'm still raving about this "mexican oven braised beef" recipe. It's so damn good and savory, I can't believe its paleo. I ate it again for lunch since we made a large batch during our prep day. That's 3 different times since Sunday and it's been as good as the first time. Everyone has to try it and according to my wife and the blog, "it's so easy to make".

Ok so I love cycling or biking. I separate the two because there are different niches in the community, roadies and mountain bikers. I like and do both but some people stick to one and don't venture into the other. Anyway, I always find myself choosing to WOD instead of ride although I think of riding just as much. I guess it's the people that keep me choosing to crossfit since it's harder to find a group of people to ride with and match schedules. If any you have either bikes and have an open schedule, let's get together and ride. Group rides are always fun especially with this so cal weather. If you're looking to get into riding I can try to help the best I can.

Today's featured meal:

Baked Salmon, roasted brussels sprouts, and roasted sweet potato.

Oh man, this dish was freaking amazing. The light touch of salt on the roasted brussels sprouts makes it so tasty. Never in a million years did I think I would be eating like this and like it. One thing I did wish I that I had done before the PNE was take a blood panel test. It would have really shown the molecular and biological changes my body would encounter during this experience. Maybe I'll still do it just so I have some medical history.

WOD: Quarter century assassinator

25 rounds (What deal did our trainers make with the devil?)

5 Shoulder to Overhead 95#

9 Unbroken Double Unders

My time = 16:55

X

A third of the way, day 10, into the whole 30 part of the PNE and still surprised that I feel good. Last night, before getting some shuteye, my wife Ally said "I really like crossfit and you knew I would." Yup folks, she's drinking the kool-aid and she will only get better. I believe the large 6:00pm class of about 15+ members showed that no matter who you are, young/old, male/female, new/experienced, contributed to a high energy and encouraging environment that crossfitters love. It brought out maximum intensity from each individual and some may say it's euphoric.

Meals for La tuya Tuesday (Petros & Money sports talk radio theme of the day)

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, onions, spinach, avocado, coconut oil, & 2 cups black coffee. (Champions meal haha)

Mid morning snack: Spinach smoothie, roasted pistachios, banana

Lunch: Grilled herb chicken and broccoli

Snack: Fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, roasted mixed nuts (no peanuts)

Dinner: Leftover chicken stir fry, paleo "fried rice", and don't forget the bacon and then finish it off with some fresh mango.

WOD: Get Up, Stand Up.... Stand up for your fitness.

5 rounds of

21 Get ups (thank goodness they weren't Turkish)

7 hand stand push ups (Attempted Rx but ended up using abmats)

400m Run

My Time = 25:28

Quality, Form, Technique is today and everday's focus.

die novem, carpe diem...

No case of the Mondays for me, I'm ready to seize the day. The weather gets better in sunny so cal and so does this PNE. Anyone following the crossfit games? I am. I've been attached to the competition ever since my good friend Jane convinced me to sign up for the open. I tried the open workouts not only to see how hard they would be, but to also see how crazy fit the elite athletes are. They make the workouts seem like childs play as I was dead beat out of my mind and oxygen deprived. I get motivated again and again after seeing some of the well-known names like Spealler, Matt Chan, & Aja really kick ass during the regionals. I can't overhead squat for the life of me or perform unbroken muscle ups, but I will damn sure give it my all and that's why I continue to crossfit and do this PNE.

So what's my Monday meal plan?

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with onions, spinach, and avocados cooked with coconut oil and 2 cups of black coffee.

Mid-morning snack: Green monster smoothie, banana, and roasted mixed nuts, no peanuts (unsalted).

Lunch: Chicken stir fry with some paleo "fried rice" with BACON!!!!

Afternoon snack: fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries

Dinner: Leftovers of the amazing "Oven Braised Mexican Beef" this time we'll add some avocado.

Warmup: Tabata Sprints (killer!)

WOD: Cindy's evil twin sister - AMRAP 20 min

15 Air squats

12 Push ups (hand release)

9 Pull ups (gonna still dread this one since my palms haven't healed completely)

SCORE = 13 rounds + 9 add'l reps (thanks to Drew for pushing me, i felt pretty darn good)

prep day, eighth day

With my wife's support, we designated Sunday as our weekly meal prep and the days turn out to be long and late as we finally finished cooking our last of 4 meals at 9:45pm. We have some great meals made from amazing recipes off of the nomnompaleo blog site and soon to be featured on this site. As we spent the day prepping our meals we decided to have one for dinner and boy was it a winner! I love Mexican food so much it's basically my kryptonite. This "braised beef taco" recipe had my name written all over it and my wife made it to perfection. I'm so lucky she cooks for us.

As for a workout, NOPE! Today was rest day for the body but we did have a family Sunday "Funday" at the park with our little girl and best bud. Now it's time to hit the sack and look foward to another great week ahead. DAD-MODE:ON, BEASTMODE:ON.

Cinco de Mayo (Day 7)

Got up this morning knowing it was gonna be a good day. I was able to sleep in, which is 7am for me, and still on a high from getting after "Fran" last night. Unfortunately my body can't fast that much longer so I had to eat breakfast and have some coffee. Breakfast or pre-wod meal was light, a banana with some almond butter.

I love weekend workouts at Canyon because nobody knows what the WOD will be and today, the wife is getting her first full crossfit workout. Got the to the box and BAM! Cardio blaster workout.

3 full rounds

Half tabata sets: 20 sec of work followed by 10 sec rest. (full tabata = 8 rounds, half = 4)

4 movements with 30 sec of rest between stations after the tabata sets are complete:

75# Push Press

24" Box jumps

Ring push ups

20# Wall Balls

I didn't count my total reps but I shot for 10 reps per movement in the first round but found myself decreasing 1-2 reps every round after. Total time for the workout was roughly 30 min and the core exercise was 3 min of planks, any which way you desired.

Post wod nutrition was cinco de mayo certified. Chorizo + Eggs + Avocado + peppers + onions. WINNING!

Now that our workout is complete for the week, we are scheduling to stock and load our fridge for the week. Paleomg and NomNomPaleo is our recipe finder for the week.

May the fourth be with you. (Day 6)

A little tidbit of why I chose the title of today's post. Believe it or not, I've never seen a Star Wars movie from beginning to end. Actually the only Star Wars movie I attempted to see was Episode II:Attack of the clones... and my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I literally fell asleep inside the theater, only to wake back up to see Yoda's fight scene... HAHA and I don't intend to watch one anytime soon either but I do understand it's impact on Star Wars fanatics so have fun on your day.

An update on yesterday, I did decide to take it off and rest. That gave me a good opportunity to take some pictures of where I train and the great people affiliated with the box. If you follow me here you might find yourself on my website, Andrew's, or Canyon's. Ahhhh Friday... winding down the end of the work week, thank goodness! I have to say this PNE has gone well for me, although I am human and I still get sweet cravings.

One of the great things about crossfit in general is it's rawness. Part of that will find it's way onto you, whether it's soreness, sense of accomplishment, or ripped skin of your palms. As of today, my hands are still torn up from Tuesdays workout and are healing well but I check online for today's WOD and BOOM, more pull ups. Frustrating I tell you but it's crossfit and I'm addicted, just like my coffee.

 *update*

HOLY WOD-MOLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PR baby!!!!!

5:00pm class had a lot of members show up so Andrew decided to adjust todays WOD because there's not enough pull up bar space for 15+. So after the warmup we paired up to count for each other and who did I get as my partner? I call her, "The People's Champion", the first PNE winner, Lisa Aulick. As excited and happy I was for PR'ing by cutting my Fran time in half, I was more motivated and ecstatic for Lisa to complete her first WOD rx'd. This was also my first wod rx'd, maybe that's why. Now that was amazing, glad to have been a part of it.

WOD warmup: 6 min AMRAP

12 - burpees + 12 - 15# medicine ball slams

WOD: "Fran"
21-15-9

95# Thrusters

pull ups

 

My time: warmup = 4 + 13

FRAN = 7:37 (flew by the wod like a boeing jet, my previous time 14:16)


araw limang

I have to admit, one thing I won't give up is my coffee. So every night I program my automated brewer for my cup-of-joe in the morning to kick-start my day.I have 2 cups and don't drink anymore throughout the day.  It had started when I used to work in San Diego for a year and a half and commute from my home in Anaheim Hills, roughly 180 miles round trip. That got old really fast. I was never a morning person so I needed a stimulant to wake me up. I immediately gravitated to coffee. I was stubborn and drank it with cream and sugar and then I slowly changed it to coffeemate powder and splenda. After starting this PNE, I quickly switched to black only, overnight! That was quite a change and now I like it. So I'm glad I can still feed my addiction to coffee and take out the things that were much worse for me.  I've been drinking my coffee from the same mug for over 2 years. It's my "Livestrong" mug. It's somewhat meaningful to me because the word alone reminds me of how I should look at life. It also reminds me of my mother, who passed away from cancer 10 months ago. It drives me to stay healthy, show love and care for the world around me. Now it's on with my Thursday - rest day (maybe).


Lunch = leftover dinner from last night with some blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Dinner = whatever leftovers we have from the week.

 

If I don't rest, here's the anticipated workout

Overhead Squat (find 1 rep max)

3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

Run 800m (which I dislike)

 

P.S. Ally's second crossfit training session is today. Hopefully Ray challenges her again and she kicks some butt.

De quatre jours

Day 4. I decided to use some coconnut oil. As you can see the oil is not solid like the way we bought it. My house is usually 7-8 degrees warmer than room temp. Why? Because it's not the biggest place, something is always on, and we have 3 people and a 1 solid english bulldog roaming around. Breakfast: different smell, different taste, but all around good.

It's 11:30am right before lunch. I listen to ESPN radio Max&Marcellus daily because I'm a sports junkie and I love football, especially the San Diego Chargers. Hence, my bulldogs name "charger", but I just heard and am very saddened to share that one of the greatest San Diego Chargers player, Junior Seau, has died in an apparent suicide reported by TMZ but stated on ESPN radio. This tragedy will hit the football community really hard. RIP Junior!

*update*
My dinner was immediately after my workout so it was the perfect post wod nutrition of grilled peppered chicken salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It was so good I helped myself to a second serving and for dessert some mango and kiwi.

Workout: "VO2 whaaaaat"
30 double unders
50 24" box jumps
30 double unders
50 push ups
30 double unders
50 sit ups
30 double unders
50 mountain climbers (2 is 1)
30 double unders
50 air squats

My time = 13:29 and to top it off for core 20 Turkish get-ups (35# kettle bell) which sucked. It's always good to workout with trainers and other athletes better than you. AFI... I will one day be at your level! (or at least aim for it)

May Gray


It's the first of the month and I have a lot to look forward to although, I wake up, get going, and in southern california it's drizzling wet. This is not normal in our so cal daily lives, but maybe in Northwest, oh well SOS (Same Old Sh**) type of morning and still feeling good.

Lunch was a repeat of last nights dinner with the addition of some grilled peppered chicken. After lunch, I decided to invest in a weight belt because I do plan to get after it and get some PR's in the next 30 days, so Big 5 you get a few of my hard earned dollars.

As for dinner, I have to give it up to my wife. She's fully supporting me during this PNE. She made an amazing crockpot roast with some sweet potatoes and asparagus. I'm one lucky guy to have married her.

WOD: "rip city" This workout flat out sucked. In total we have 1 mile, 49 push jerks, and 105 pull ups, but I got it done. During the workout I feel like I'm pushing and then once I recover I tell myself I should've went harder. So next time I'll go harder.

Run 800m (buy-in)

7 rounds of

7 Push Jerks

15 Pull ups

Run 800m (buy out)

My time = 24:09

Below is the aftermath of getting after it! Hope there's no pull ups anytime soon.

 

 

 

de dos diàs

A daily morning routine will help and since I've been doing this (as in cooking for breakfast) for about 3-4 weeks now and there's really no big change. Here's a little insight of my mon-fri mornings.

5:45am wake up & get ready for work
6:00am pack my lunch, brew coffee, and cook breakfast...eat.
6:20am feed my dog Charger and take him out for potty.
6:30am on the road for some kick ass science work
7:00 am - 4:00 pm GRINDING...

In between grinding for work I have some food to eat which by the picture above was similar to what I had for lunch yesterday. Today is a big day, my wife Ally had decided to finally give crossfit a try! To my surprise, she did amazing killing the double unders on her first day. After the workout we had the best recovery dinner, SPAGHETTI!.......spaghetti squash, ground turkey, and tomato sauce. This was a winner. On to the next day...

Workout: PNE WOD for time

Run 400m

1 round of "Cindy" (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 Air squats)

21 Deadlifts, 155#

Run 400m

1 - Cindy

15 Front squats, 155#

Run 400m

1 - Cindy

9 Clean & Jerks

MY TIME = 15:10

PNE - Day 1

I've decided to start this PNE on this Sunday just like how a normal week starts. I'm off to a good start with a filling breakfast of scrambled eggs, sweet peppers, onions, and spinach cooked with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. Then I was off with my family to visit my mom at Forest Lawn cemetery. On the way I had a "green monster" smoothie. It consist of tropical frozen fruit blend of papaya, mango, pineapple, strawberries, bananas, 2 handfuls of spinach, and water. (Paleo friendly) Since I'm addicted to coffee I stopped by a joint called Dripp, ordered black and it was darn good.
Lunch time.... here's where it gets tough because off running errands and choosing where to eat and ordering the right food will be a challenge, but I decided on some el pollo loco chicken. An 8 piece family meal with mixed veggies and sweet potato fries that quickly turned into 16 piece chicken meal at the checkout. Took the food home and went to town but kept PNE in mind by going skinless and no fries because I doubt it was fried I'm coconut oil, olive oil, or ghee. So another meal down and feeling good. After lunch we embarked on our game plan for meals for the week. Costco and Sprouts are now our default markets and we loaded up on some meat and boat loads of fruits and veggies. Now we're stocked, locked and loaded ready to go.
Dinner... After consulting with the wifey on what to cook we settled on some grilled marinated chicken and steamed broccoli. Once dinner was done we took a little more time to do some extra food prep for the week once we put the little one to bed. This will allow me to stay focused and on track. This will probably be a staple meal because it doesn't seem to fail. So at the end of 1 full day, I feel great and I believe because it wasn't as drastic of a change to what I normally eat. Looking forward to the remainder of this experience and my daily wods.

Hope

 

This was the name of my workout this morning. It was quite unique, I had Cailey with me at the gym and everyone said she was so good chillin in her stroller and not complaining while watching everyone get after it! Made daddy proud!

This workout was a brutal 17 min. Here it is: 3 rounds
1 min burpees
1 min 75# power snatches
1 min 24" box jumps
1 min 75# thruster
1 min chest to bar pull ups
1 min rest

My final score = 195 total reps

Here's a link: hope.crossfit.com

By the way, tomorrow I begin my Performance Nutrition Experience.

 

Constantly changing

Just like the title of my journal, I'm always changing my mind. My wife calls it "phases", but one phase that I'm trying keep constant in my life is my health and fitness. Since I no longer play competitive organized sports my health and fitness has been a roller coaster. I've been doing crossfit for 6 months now. I've seen so many physical and mental improvements since the day I started. I used to consider myself an athlete, but crossfit has put me in my place of humble pie. This time around I'm going to track my training through this journal. Whether, it's a quick post of the WOD or a full explanation of the beat down I just went through. On top of that, I've decided to participate in the Performance Nutrition Experience (PNE) that our crossfit box is doing. Thanks to Canyon Crossfit I will be embarking on a challenging experience that will sure put my health in a better state. So l look foward to sharing the entire experience. Check back shortly...

Vacation in Arizona

It's always a good time when vacation starts and end with family. We had this Arizona trip planned earlier this year after many years of harmless nagging and comments from the Arizona family. We were here 5 years ago and this time around there were 3 new family members. We all had a blast together from hanging out at the park, swimming, and eating. I don't know when the next time will be when we come back but it will always be memorable.

Time evaluation

It's been 27 days, and today is leap day Feb 29th, since I last posted and I must say, my triple-D grading is average "C". I wasn't as discplined as I wanted. I was mostly dedicated to the workouts of the month but I was still determined, or at least that's what I perceived.

I started the month very motivated, but the moment I got off my schedule and onto my business trip schedule, that's where things fell off. I was on business for 5 days in nor cal and I only worked out for 1 of those days. Granted, I was walking around the city for everything so that helped. I tried to keep my diet on point, but I strayed away during the social gatherings. In the end, I didn't gain or lose weight but I definitely felt different, unaccomplished more so.

I took the remainder of the month in stride. I got back into the routine and with the best wife in the world, she got me back on with eating right. In order to really push myself, I decided to compete. It's an inter-box competition with 5 other gyms for the "everyday crossfitter" in March. We'll see how that goes, I'm getting really nervous and anxious. I just don't want to SUCK!

One last note, more pictures!!!! I need to take more pictures. I have a possible shoot for a MMA clothing company with my brother-in-law. I hope this leads to more photography gigs, that's the hope! Happy LEAP DAY y'all!

Nor-cal as we say it here in Socal.

Tomorrow I will be headed to the good old bay area. It won't be for pleasure but rather for work. I will be attending a conference where my first authorship of a poster in the medical device industry will be presented. It's quite exciting and a personal accomplishment. (you can see the poster here for a limited time)

A few thoughts are constantly crossing my mind. One, this will be the second time I'll spend more than 5 days aways from my beautiful daughter. Two, how in the world do I get my WOD's in? Lastly, I need my "triple-D" to stay on point with choosing wisely.

I married the best wife/mother on the planet. Everyday I get a beautiful smiling "good morning" picture of my daughter and it always jump starts my day, thanks hunny! Thank goodness for facetime! Technology puts me one app away from seeing my family at almost anytime of the day. So as hard as it my physically be, the world has made it a little easier.

Number two... I've contacted another crossfit box near the hotel I'll be staying at but I've quickly decided against it. They want to charge me a $25 drop-in fee each time I want to workout, that could be $125 for the 5 or so days I'll be there. I guess there's a reason why I love the people of Canyon Crossfit, if you drop in, bring a case of water. Luckily I have options. The hotel gym or the 24hr fitness that's half a mile away. Planning is what I'll be doing. I will have to maintain my early morning wake schedule for this to happen since the conference will be all-day events.

And finally, the elephant in my head... FOOD!! Last night I fell asleep hungry because I wanted to watch "Amazing Eats", not the best idea. I'll be staying in union square and if you know that area, there's a plethora of foodie options. Luckily, I strategized. I'm a stone throws away from a Sprouts market. I'll grab some fruits, nuts, and jerky for snacking. When it's meal time... remind myself of triple-D, again, not Guy Fiery. NO SUGAR just some good protein and vegetables. I'll be the first to admit, it's not easy and last weekend I had three slices of pepperoni pizza. I felt bad, but like I said, I have the best wife in the world and she got us back on track during the week.

So now that it's out there... I just need to hold myself accountable. "Triple-D!, Triple-D!, Triple-D!"

P.S.

Still haven't jumped on the whole paleo thing, but I found some really strong research dating as far back as the 1980s. Here are 3 good recent articles, look how important diet is to your health. If you already have problems, how can you help yourself? If you don't read the links below, here's what one author says: "The authors concluded that even short term consumption of a Paleolithic type diet improves blood pressure and glucose tolerance, decreases insulin secretion, increases insulin sensitivity, and improves lipid profiles without weight loss in healthy sedentary humans." .......nuff said!

Paleo & Diabetes

Paleo & CVD

Humans & Animal Food Source

To sweet or not be sweet....

YES. YES. I know, another one of those million post about health and fitness in the new year, but here's one of many to come. I'm sure not the most healthy person out there. But what does healthy mean? I'm a science geek when it comes to life, so I definitely like to find answers or at least information to support what I'm thinking. One thing I've come to find out in my science career is that almost anything can be made to seem true. I, on the other hand, need to use my geek-ness to my advantage. I will do my best to site credible sources as I go along posting things here and there. (Warning: they will be bland and boring and very very science oriented) If you're able to digest these articles for the information, kudos to you, but I'll do my very best to expose the gist of it all.

Slowly I'm getting influenced by this "Paleo" lifestyle that's been marketed all over CrossFit. I see other people getting good results. First things first, paleo means prehistoric or primitive, so in this day in age how likely can you find things that mimic this definition? Not many. Second, it's quite expensive, grass-fed anything is costly, even when on sale. Lastly, incorporation to your daily life, this requires a lot of discipline, but it can be done.

I'm not 100% convinced on the entire paleo thing, but what I do believe to be true in this diet is the market of "NO SUGAR"! Even if I decide not to follow paleo strictly, I should follow this, as we all should. Understand that the sugar they are speaking of is refined or processed sugar. So if it doesn't come from a fruit, plant, or animal then it's processed. Fruits and natural honey are ok but high-fructose corn syrup and sugar substitutes are a no-no. Did you know carbohydrates, or grains, are a sugar? Yes, rice, wheat, pasta, are all refined sugars so this is lumped into the "no sugar" aspect. But gosh darnit, I grew up eating rice everday. Don't believe the marketing world when they say brown rice is way better than white rice. It's still rice with a little added nutrients but it still reacts and breaks down the same way as white rice im your body.

All this time I've just been thinking and trying to do my own research. I haven't tried to start this lifestyle yet. I'll start by making smarter choices throughout my day. Here are a few journal abstracts that about our western lifestyle and it's effects. Again, this is very dense wording.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21167850

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19528982

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9624878

Protein power not just powder!

California Love!

 

Dr. Dre and 2pac couldn't have made a better song in 90's. It's the middle of the winter season and for the next several days we get spring weather. What a great day to be out and enjoy what life throws at you. Life is good!